Film Reviews

I was really looking forward to Jurassic World, so I’m sad to say that for the most part it’s a shockingly average film. There are some nice nods to the previous film and it is hilariously self-aware at points but the film felt cluttered and baggy never capitalizing on its fantastic concept.

The stand out moments include seeing the park fully operational, and what a theme park where dinosaurs are an attraction would look like, taken to its logical conclusion. Also there’s an infuriatingly intriguing subplot about the other potential uses for the dinosaurs and the audacity of the scientists who created what is easily the franchise’s scariest dinosaur yet, the Indominus Rex. Yet despite this, the film never got its teeth into me like other summer blockbusters have.

Perhaps the film’s biggest stumbling blocks was the absence of the sense of wonder that pervaded the original film. I’m not sure if that was an intentional move on the part of director Colin Trevorrow, perhaps to reflect the sterilisation of Hammonds dream, but the film felt awfully sterile. I kept on hoping for a moment, similar to the first film, where we first saw the Brachiosaurus and I was stunned with awe but it never materialized.

Chris Pratt, who shone so bright in Guardians of the Galaxy, feels dull and flat as Owen Grady the Velociraptor trainer. Pratt does a great job, but his character lacks the roguish charm of previous roles and isn’t given the opportunity to showcase. The other characters are well acted but they too feel flat and forced, and for the most part, are like contrived versions of the first films cast.

All that being said, without spoiling the film’s finale it’s an awesome and thrilling spectacle that will have your inner child howling with excitement, and I challenge anyone who watches the film not to grin like a loon at the sheer lunacy of what they are watching.